Almost Airbnb disaster in Quepos

January 7, 2024
Took a 3 km walk on Jaco beach this morning before heading off to Quepos. The drive was easy and the traffic light.

Drove through Quepos as my Airbnb is closer to Manuel Antonio National Park. I sat in dismay in front of Casa Geraldo…it basically looked like a dump!!

I walked around the place and started to panic as I am staying here for 4 nights! Earlier, I noticed a younger lady come out from the complex. I found her sitting at a Soda “restaurant” across the street. I ordered a cold smoothie and started chatting with her.

Erin told me she arrived at 2 am this morning from Florida and was immediately upset and wanted to go home as the Airbnb was not what she nexpected. I told her my fears too. She told me she was here for only 4 days and that she has never been out of the USA before. To top it off, today is her birthday!

I contacted Michael, the host, and he came over to meet us. I checked in to find a very sparse room. The ad said there was a kitchen , turns out it’s a shared kitchen. Only a fridge and kettle in the unit. One bed and in the bathroom there is a shower that runs only cold water! Now for those who know me, know I do cold exposure at home. The one thing I cannot do is take a cold shower! As it turns out the unit that supplies the hot water is broken, Michael will get it fixed tomorrow.

Back to Erin! She looked so fragile and lost. I offered to take her to the grocery store to pick up a few snacks and water. She jumped at the offer. We took a walk around Quepos and I could see she was starting to feel better.

We went out for dinner at El Avion for her birthday dinner .

El Avion is built into and around an actual historic airplane. This C-123 cargo plane was built in San Jose in the 1980’s, the history goes, after the US government purchased it to be used by the Contras. It involved the illegal selling of arms of rebels in Nicaragua. Avion had a sister plane which took to the skies on its mission first and was shot down. The capture of passengers from that plane is what started to unravel the Contra scandal and because of this the second plane never took off.

This plane sat in San Jose collecting dust, until an enterprising entrepreneurs came along and gave the plane new life. The owners of El Avion purchased the plane for about $3000 and decided to recycle it into an unforgettable restaurant. Even thought the restaurant is built around it, the plane looks like it crash landed right on the cliff side of the main road.

The food and views are amazing.

The cockpit is still intact and you can go inside and pretend to be a pilot.

January 8, 2024
Had tea and a smoothie bowl on the terrace this morning before our jungle hike.

Met Verona and her dog Hank at the corner market and started our hike into the jungle and the 4 beaches in the Manuel Antione area. It was a long 6 hour hike and hopefully my knee will survive. Before I left for my trip, I had a platelet injection in my right knee. I’m hopeful that it will help me with the pain and the rehabilitation of this knee.

First beach was Playa La Macha, then Playa La Vaca, Playa Tulemar, and finally Playa Briesanz. I wasn’t impressed with them. The first two were rocky, Tulemar was ok but I found too many little mosquitos and Briesanz had beautiful white sand but it was so busy!

The views were beautiful.

IMG_1383

We saw 3 sloths, white faced monkeys, 1 squirrel monkey, and howler monkeys.

6 hours from start to finish! Long day!

Verona, Erin, and me

Hank

Had a shower then grabbed lunch and a smoothie and headed down to Playa Playitas.

It’s one of Manuel Antonio’s most exclusive beaches because getting there requires a long walk or a 4x4 vehicle. It has the best surfing waves and a lot less people.

We stayed for the beautiful sunset!

January 9, 2024
It was a nice slow morning….no where to go. Spent a quiet day by myself at Playa Playitas again.

Grabbed dinner from a local Soda (restaurant) and was ready to head out on the mangrove night tour. We saw many scary things in the dark!

Viper

January 10, 2024
I spent the day in Manuel Antonio National Park. Did some exploring, saw some critters.

Really big ant hill

Spent the afternoon on Playa Espadilla in Manuel Antonio Park. I didn’t enjoy Playa Manuel Antonio as much as there were too many people.

Ended the day with a drive on the beach to have dinner on Playa Playitas watching another amazing sunset. Costa Rica has the best sunsets!

January 11, 2024
I left very early this morning for a drive to Dominical, about 50 minutes South of Quepos. I went to visit Nic and Jana, the hitchhikers we picked up while travelling in Alaska.

They visited Vancouver Island in August, 2023 for a month. While on the island, they bought a touring motorcycle for their trip to Calgary and down the the USA. They visited friends in the Okanagan, Calgary, and Edmonton. Then they headed south through Montana, Portland, Las Vegas and finally to Los Angeles. Nic and Jana found the USA too expensive so decided to sell their bike and head to Costa Rica in early December.

I met them in Dominical and headed to Uvita to visit The Whale Tale in the Marino Ballena National Park. During low tide, the water recedes to reveal a marvelous formation of rocks and sand in the form of a “tail”. It’s been affectionately named the Whale Tail, paying homage to the fact that it is the best humpback whale watching place in Costa Rica.

IMG_1524

We headed back to Dominical for lunch and a swim. I had the world’s best fish taco EVER! The owner is from Saskatchewan and he told us about a very quiet, beautiful beach about 12 km away called Playa Linda. Hopped in the car and off we went. On the way there we saw am iguana run across the highway and for hit by a car! It was not a nice sight. The three of us all felt sick the rest of the drive.

IMG_1543

Back to the Airbnb to pack as I am leaving tomorrow for La Fortuna. We had some heavy rain this evening for about 1 hour. gateway to Arenal Volcano National Park.
Delish Mango salad.